00:00 "I don't want you to be afraid of anything."
00:03 Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most famous guest stars
00:08 and early career performers on the long-running ABC daytime soap, General Hospital.
00:13 "So what's it gonna be?"
00:16 Number 10.
00:17 Demi Moore.
00:18 "I'm Jackie Templeton.
00:19 I hope I haven't come at a bad time."
00:20 "Oh no, of course not.
00:21 Please come in."
00:22 Before she became famous in movies like St. Elmo's Fire and Ghost, Demi Moore played the
00:27 meddling investigative reporter Jackie Templeton.
00:30 Though just shy of 20 at the time, Moore's smoky voice and big hair go a long way in
00:35 hiding her inexperience.
00:37 She handles herself like a pro against GH veterans Anthony Geary and Jeannie Francis.
00:42 "Sorry, don't apologize.
00:43 I really think it's fascinating."
00:46 As the dogged reporter searching for her sister, Moore agitated a lot of storylines in her
00:50 two-year stint, and the character clearly left a mark on the series.
00:55 He would return in 2020 after a nearly 30-year absence, but with actress Kim Delaney in Moore's
01:01 place.
01:02 "Do you know this town?"
01:03 "Intimately."
01:04 "Great, where can we talk?"
01:05 Number 9.
01:06 Richard Simmons.
01:07 "Why don't we all do some stretches, okay?
01:08 Let's do some warm-ups.
01:09 Come on, everybody.
01:10 Come on.
01:11 Okay."
01:12 The denizens of Port Charles, New York had to do something to maintain those felt physiques.
01:16 Like millions of home viewers, they relied on the encouragement and energetic, ultra-positive
01:21 instruction of Richard Simmons.
01:23 When he made his debut on the show in 1979, Simmons was a rising star in the arena of
01:28 TV fitness.
01:29 He played a fictionalized version of himself on the show, and gave aerobics lessons to
01:34 classic characters like Monica Quartermain and Leslie Webber.
01:37 "We better take a little break because the general hospital ladies look a bit tired.
01:42 Take a break.
01:43 Take a five-minute break.
01:44 Come on."
01:45 "All right, go, girl."
01:46 But Simmons wasn't just ornamental.
01:49 He was a full-blown character in himself.
01:51 He returned to guest star for the show's 50th anniversary in 2013, and even had a major
01:56 beef with legacy character Lucy Ko.
01:59 "This is the fitness guru, the extreme performer extraordinaire, Richard Simmons!"
02:07 Number 8.
02:08 Ricky Martin
02:09 Before he was Livin' La Vida Loca, the Puerto Rican pop star was an actor in telenovelas.
02:14 Upon arrival at General Hospital, he was sporting long Fabio-like locks as aspiring singer Miguel
02:20 Flores.
02:26 Miguel was not a permanent character, but he left an impression on many of the soap's
02:31 swooning viewers.
02:32 Much of his storyline involved bringing tension to the supercouple pairing of Brenda Barrett
02:36 and mobster Sonny Corinthos.
02:41 He even played a major part in one of the show's most heartbreaking storylines, as he
02:46 was the one who found young BJ Jones after her fatal run-in with a drunk driver.
02:51 Although Martin has since returned to acting, he has yet to return to this role.
02:59 Number 7.
03:00 Amber Tamblyn
03:01 "What kind of questions will the social worker ask me?"
03:03 Early in her career, the future sisterhood of the traveling pant star originated the
03:07 role of a young girl who is adopted into the powerful Quartermaine family.
03:11 Tamblyn first appeared as Emily in 1995, and over her six years with the show, she acted
03:17 out every kind of melodramatic soap opera storyline you can imagine.
03:24 From love triangles to kidnappings to substance use, Tamblyn's time in the role was pretty
03:29 fraught.
03:30 Tamblyn left the show in 2001, and actress Natalia Livingston took over the role when
03:34 the character returned in 2003.
03:41 Tamblyn's career really took off after she left the show, starring in her own primetime
03:46 series Joan of Arcadia, and from there, she embarked on a lucrative film career.
03:51 Number 6.
03:52 George Takei
03:53 "You are five minutes late, DM."
03:56 "Ah, there were a great number of people that you wanted me to see."
04:03 Hospital Hospital is a long way from the Starship Enterprise, so viewers were probably kinda
04:08 surprised to see Commander Sulu in Port Charles.
04:10 George Takei played Mr. DM, the informal mayor of the Asian Quarter neighborhood.
04:15 DM is portrayed as an ominous cagey diplomat who is in league with the Wu's, a local crime
04:21 syndicate.
04:25 He played an antagonistic role in a 1985 storyline about the kidnapping of Robert Scorpio and
04:30 Anna Devane's daughter Robin.
04:32 Takei and the cryptic character only appeared for a couple of months before DM was poisoned
04:36 by his criminal allies.
04:40 Number 5.
04:41 Chandra Wilson
04:42 "I'm Dr. Francine Massey."
04:45 This Grey's Anatomy star is no stranger to dramatic hospital settings where the most
04:49 unhinged things can happen.
04:51 Given that both shows air on ABC, Chandra Wilson basically works right next door.
04:56 She's also a huge GH fan, and got to demonstrate her knowledge on a memorable appearance on
05:01 the Queen Latifah show.
05:07 Wilson has gotten the full general hospital experience.
05:10 She's played three different roles since 2014.
05:14 First as obsessive-compulsive patient Tina Estrada.
05:17 Returning in 2018, she played a different role as Dr. Massey.
05:27 Then she returned again in 2019 and 2023 as fashion editor Sydney Valjean, reporting on
05:34 the scene at the annual Nurses' Ball.
05:36 Number 4.
05:37 Meghan Markle
05:38 Before she became the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle was just an aspiring actress and theater
05:43 student at Northwestern University.
05:46 In 2002, the fresh-faced future royal landed one of her first TV roles on the soap.
05:51 She's credited as Jill, a nurse who works at the eponymous hospital.
05:55 Jill only appeared in an episode or two.
06:02 Her part is small and fleeting, and she's really just there to move the plot along.
06:07 The performance probably would have been hidden in endless hours of archival footage if not
06:11 for Markle's fame later in life.
06:20 Number 3.
06:21 John Stamos
06:22 The former Full House star has been a certified heartthrob since the 1980s.
06:30 But John Stamos first came to public attention as Blackie Parrish, the brooding and sensitive
06:35 foster child of Leslie and Dr. Rick Weber.
06:38 Introduced in 1982, Blackie was a troubled teenager with a passion for music, a tale
06:43 that Stamos shares.
06:45 Stamos was widely praised for his performance, even scoring a daytime Emmy nomination for
06:49 the role.
06:50 The tragic ending of Blackie's romance with young Lou Swenson gave him a heartbreaking
06:54 send-off in 1984.
07:03 Despite the character's popularity, Stamos left the role for good, and neither the actor
07:08 nor the character has returned.
07:11 Number 2.
07:12 James Franco
07:13 Soap operas tend to be where stars get their start in the business, not where they go after
07:17 stardom finds them.
07:19 And when controversial actor and filmmaker James Franco approached the General Hospital
07:23 producers, he was at the height of his fame.
07:28 Playing the aptly named Franco, an artist who develops a sick fascination with longtime
07:33 series lead Jason Morgan, the actor certainly made an impression.
07:42 Franco insisted his appearance on the show was a performance art piece in itself, intended
07:47 to make viewers question whether soap operas are a legitimate art form.
07:56 You could argue the utility of trying to make this point to an entire audience full of soap
08:02 opera viewers, but his appearance garnered the then 40-year-old series some welcome press.
08:13 You have the option to be notified for occasional videos or all of them.
08:17 If you're on your phone, make sure you go into your settings and switch on notifications.
08:23 Number 1.
08:24 Elizabeth Taylor
08:25 At the time, the 1981 wedding of Luke Spencer and Laura Weber was the most watched daytime
08:36 TV event ever.
08:38 Elizabeth Taylor was not only Hollywood royalty, she was also a devout fan of the show.
08:43 And when she specifically asked to be written into the event, the writers came through.
08:50 Her character, the vengeful and glamorous widow Helena Cassadine, makes quite a splash
08:55 from the jump.
08:56 She curses the married couple on their wedding day and makes it her entire mission to ruin
09:01 their lives.
09:10 Although Taylor would leave the role after her week of appearances was completed, she
09:13 actually ended up dating Anthony Geary, the actor who played Luke.
09:17 Meanwhile, the villainous Helena continued to terrorize the Spencers for decades.
09:23 Who's your favorite extra special GH guest star?
09:26 Let us know in the comments!
09:40 [Outro]
09:49 (upbeat music)
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